The Lost Sister, Thief, Prisoner
by Gerkyhen
Summary: "You're helping me find her," Vilania hissed, shoving a finger in his face. "Come on." When Hieronymus Lex 'loses' Vilania's sister after he jails her. He's forced to join her, in her search for her. Lest he suffer the consequences. Hieronymus LexXOC
1. Chapter 1

_The Lost Sister/Thief/Prisoner_

_Uhh hello. This is my first Oblivion fanfiction…I hope it's enjoyable._

* * *

"Ahh Lexie, when am I going to get you out of that uniform?"

"You're not…and don't call me Lexie," Hieronymus Lex growled back.

The dark elf he was holding pouted. "Harsh Lexie, harsh,"

The guard captain squeezed the bridge of his nose in annoyance with his free hand. Malvi was a regular at the Imperial prison; she had a habit of stealing things and was constantly being jailed for short periods of time before her sister Vilania would pay her bail. Hieronymus was usually the one catching her and apparently, Malvi had grown rather fond of him. Lex didn't return this affection however; he had no time for lawbreakers.

"Hello Malvi. Caught again?" The jailer Jobert stood up as Hieronymus bundled the slender elf into the room. Jobert was a jolly looking man in his mid-thirties who unlike Lex seemed very affectionate toward the thieving elf.

"Yup. Tried to nick some jewels off some rich guy," Malvi nodded, looking rather proud of herself.

"That 'rich guy' was High Chancellor Ocato," Hieronymus stated through gritted teeth.

Malvi shrugged signifying she didn't know who that was and nor did she care. She smiled sweetly at Jobert.

"Can I have an apple?" she enquired, nodding at the fruit bowl on the jailer's desk.

"Sure," Jobert nodded before chucking an apple to the young elf.

Malvi caught the apple deftly with her shackled hands before proceeding to the door to the dungeons, crunching on the fruit. Jobert followed her over, unlocked the door and then led her down.

Lex tapped impatiently at the desk as he waited for them to return. When Jobert did return –looking rather red in the face- he tutted.

"You could make it a little less obvious that you favour her," the captain sighed.

"Sorry sir, she's just so sweet," Jobert shrugged, looking embarrassed.

Hieronymus shook his head in distaste and then left the room.

* * *

BANG BANG BANG.

"The Grey Fox!" Hieronymus shouted as he awoke to a frenzied knocking at his door. "Uh?" he looked at the door, the sound of banging still very much apparent at the hinges.

_Dammit_ he cursed. He had just been in the middle of a wonderful dream, just about to rip that damned Grey Foxes' cowl off of his face. The guard captain rubbed at his eyes and looked out of the window. The moon shone round and full in the dark sky accompanied by the twinkling of the stars.

_Who in Oblivion could that be?_Lex thought bitterly as he glanced at the door again. Not many people knew where the guard captain lived when he was off duty…and he fully doubted that any of the other guard captains would wake him up at this hour just for help with a criminal.

Though actually…Lex wouldn't put it past Adamus Phillidia; that man was obsessed with the Dark Brotherhood, it wasn't healthy…and it was nothing like Lex's own fixation on the Grey Fox…because the Grey Fox was real. In fact…

Wide-eyed, Hieronymus shot out of bed. What if someone had caught the Grey Fox? Covering the space from his bed to the door in two bounds, the captain then proceeded to rip open the door.

However, much to his disappointment, his eyes did not fall upon two proud looking guards holding a sheepish looking masked fiend. Rather, they fell upon a curvy dark elf with dark red hair fashioned into a high, loose bun, with a partly furious and partly worried expression on her face.

Lex remembered that she was Vilania, Malvi's older sister. Vilania wasn't often seen around the city as she fancied herself an adventurer, and was often out spelunking in old forts and caves. She only really tended to appear back in the Imperial City once word had reached her about Malvi being jailed.

"Wha-" Lex began but Vilania interrupted him.

"Where's my sister?" she demanded.

What? This foolish woman had awoken him for that?

"She'll be in jail," Hieronymus groaned, he flicked a glare her way. "As usual. You know you should really learn to contro-"

"Oh very funny," Vilania interrupted once again. "Now where is she really? I swear Captain Lex, if you've done **anything** to or with her, I will wring your head from your neck."

"Excuse me?" Lex drew himself up to his full height (which, incidentally, wasn't very tall) he was not one to cower to threats, nor would he allow people to blame him for something which was not his fault. "I'll have you know Dunmer that threatening a captain of the Imperial Watch is rewarded with jail time."

Vilania wasn't put off however. "Is that what you're calling it now then? 'Jail Time'? You're sick!"

Unable to grasp what the elf was implying, Hieronymus could only garner up enough sense to say: "Whu?"

"She told me you two were engaged in a relationship, but I never believed her," Vilania continued –apparently unaware of the Imperial's mouth dropping open in surprise- "I thought it was just the childish imaginings of a teenager! But you took advantage of her didn't you? Where is she?"

"She told you…we were…in a relationship?" Lex repeated, too outstanded by Malvi's gall to deny the accusations being thrown at him.

"Yes you sicko! Now where is she?" Vilania pushed past the man and into his small, humble abode.

The Imperial turned, still flabbergasted, to watch her rampage through his room. Vilania ducked under his bed, as if she was going to find her sister tied up and gagged amongst Lex's armour. Growling in frustration, the elf started checking the cupboards and shelves. It was only when she checked under his covers, did Hieronymus launch into action.

"I'm not hiding your sister!" he exploded, grabbing the elf's elbow and yanking her off his bed. "Last I saw of her she was being jailed by an overly friendly jailer! And we…we were never in a 'relationship'! That'd ludicrous!"

Vilania shook her arm free of his grasp and glowered hard at him, her dark eyebrows furrowed in anger and confusion. "Then why isn't she **in** jail?" she questioned furiously.

"She isn't in jail?" Lex replied in confusion.

"No! She isn't in jail! If she was in jail why would I be here?" Vilania shot back.

This logical question was answered with a helpless look from the Imperial before her.

"You're helping me find her," Vilania hissed, shoving a finger in his face. "Come on."

"I didn't become the captain of the Imperial watch to help find every missing civilian," Hieronymus retorted. "Take this to another, lesser, guard."

Vilania laughed mockingly, gazing at the hard, wooden floor for a few seconds before she looked up at him, from the sides of her eyes, her head tilted. "If you don't come and help me find my sister **right** now, I'm going to start telling people about your 'relationship' with her. It **is** rather suspect how many times it was **you** who caught her. I'm sure tongues are already wagging."

Lex stared at her in shock. If people began to suspect he was engaged in a relationship with a thief –not to mention a **terrible** thief- his whole reputation could go down the drain. Who knew the older dark elf sister was so devious?

Slowly depression took over the man's face, his eyebrows furrowed and his lower lip jutted out in defeat, he slumped visibly before sighing. "…fine."

"Good," Vilania nodded before heading out of the open door. The guard captain went to follow, but Vilania shook her head, a smirk upon her full lips. "Maybe you'd like to put a shirt on first? I mean I'm not complaining, but…"

Lex looked down, and couldn't help the blush that spread across his cheeks as he realised he was only in his pyjama bottoms. He walked backwards to his bed, his eyes watching Vilania dutifully, and yanked a brown shirt off of his dresser. He stepped into his boots, grabbed his sword from under his bed and then joined Vilania back at the door.

"Loving the trousers," Vilania nodded as they began making their way to the Imperial Prison.

"Shut up," Hieronymus returned, keeping his eyes on the horizon.

* * *

_So, that's the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed, R&R? Mahby? Puhleeease._


	2. Chapter 2

The Lost Sister/Thief/Prisoner

_Thanks for the reviews so far. Due to the title not allowing slashes in it, I've had to use commas, but the official title is indeed the slashed one ^_^ Thanks to: TLOSpyrogirl for pointing that out._

* * *

"Where is my sister?"

"I…I…don't know…I've told you already…"

Hieronymus Lex rolled his eyes as he swept his hair back into his customary ponytail. Vilania was insisting on asking Jobert the same question over and over again, despite the fact that she had already previously been here earlier. Poor Jobert looked rather red in the face as Vilania shoved a threatening finger into his face.

"I'm asking you again Jobert! **Where** is my sister?"

"I…I don't know!" Jobert shrieked back. Perhaps if Vilania hadn't arrived in the jailer's office with his guard captain in tow Jobert would be less inclined to take the threats off the dark elf, but there was Lex. In a shirt, pyjama bottoms and boots yes, but still Lex nonetheless.

"Like Oblivion you don't know!" Vilania retorted, she reached forward and grabbed Jobert's shirt. "**Why** isn't my sister in her cell?"

Right, that was enough. Lex strode over to the table and grabbed Vilania's wrist, yanking her away from the flailing Jobert.

"He **doesn't** know," he growled.

Vilania glowered at him before slowly pulling her arm out of his grip. She stomped over to the door that led down to the cells and pouted at him. Lex noted with distaste that when the older elf pouted, she looked almost exactly like her sister.

"Jobert," Hieronymus turned to the jailer, who was regarding Vilania with a worried expression on his face. "We'll check around downstairs to see how she could have possibly escaped. The keys?" the guard captain extended his hand for the keys and Jobert swiftly dumped them into his waiting hand.

"She…she was in the cell opposite Dreth," he informed them.

As Lex unlocked the door and began making his way down Vilania tutted.

"**Escaped**?" she repeated in haughty tones. "Somebody's done something with her. If Malvi escaped she'd come straight to me."

The Imperial didn't reply; he was tired, fed up, and the overpowering, stifling scent of the dungeons was plaguing his nostrils, making him want to cough. That being said the irritating Dunmer behind him certainly wasn't improving his mood much either.

"Coming down here to be taunted again? Or did you not quite hear what I said last time? It's only a matter of time Imperial pig, till me and your wife meet!"

Lex groaned…oh great, another one. An angry looking dark elf stood up at the bars of his cell, glowering with unchecked rage at the guard captain.

Hieronymus knew who he was, Valen Dreth. The dark elf had been jailed numerous times in the past…but not for petty offences like Malvi. Dreth was usually hauled in for many, many years. He was a well-known narcissist and if anyone didn't agree with him on how 'great' he was, he would launch into a narcissistic rage, attacking anyone who dared doubt his greatness. Lex knew for a fact that this most recent stint in jail was the result of stabbing someone. Valen Dreth was going to be in prison for a long, long time.

"Dreth," Lex acknowledged. "Do you have any idea what happened to a dark elf called Malvi? She was supposed to be in the cell opposite yours."

"Ah yes, that little Dunmer," Dreth replied, a cruel smirk on his lips. He draped his arms out of the cell bars and looked the Imperial up and down, casually. "She was a looker eh? Looked the type to want to play around as well," the dark elf's eyes darkened visibly. "But she turned me down…the stupid, tight, little whore-"

Before Hieronymus could react, Vilania was grabbing Valen through the cell's bars, pulling the prisoner forward so that his face smacked against the rusting metal poles.

"You better shut your trap about my sister you cur," she warned, breathing heavily, her eyebrows pulled down in anger. "Because if you don't I won't resist pulling your head off of your shoulders."

Bug-eyed, the male elf managed to yank himself free of the female's grip, he rubbed his face and then glowered hard at her.

"Who do you think you are handling **me**?" he shrieked his voice high with indignation.

Vilania gave him a deadpan stare. "And who are **you** exactly? From what I can tell, you're just some grotty, **smelly**, prisoner."

Dreth stared at her in outrage. "Listen here you-"

"Alright that's it," Hieronymus cut in, fed up. "Dreth, where did Malvi go?"

Valen stared at the ground thoughtfully for a moment and then he looked up, a cunning glint in his eye. "Why should I tell you?" he questioned. "What's in it for me?"

Lex stared at him for a few, silent moments before sighing and then nodding at Vilania. Vilania grabbed Dreth and rammed him into the bars once again, resulting in yelp of pain from the aggressive male.

"You'll never get it out of me! Heeheehahahaha!" he began cackling wildly.

Hieronymus and Vilania stared at him for a few moments as he laughed manically, Vilania still clutching him by his shirt, and then Lex slowly jangled his jail door keys.

"Hahahaha…ha…ha." Valen trailed off as he opened his eyes to see Lex holding the door key.

"I have the key to your cell here, Dreth," Hieronymus told him calmly. "And let me just tell you that I would not be adverse to letting Vilania in there with you for a while,"

The prisoner's eyes widened in horror and his eyes flickered to Vilania, who was looking at Lex with a gleeful expression on her face, she then turned this gleeful look onto Valen, who gulped.

"So…we can do this the easy way, or the much harder, much more brutal way. What do you say Dreth?" Lex continued his face a picture of stony indifference.

Valen stared at him for a few moments, lost for words for once in his pitiful life. His mouth was slack as he slowly weighed up his options. Eventually the dark elf seemingly decided the Imperial wasn't bluffing and so spoke.

"The…the Emperor-"

"He's lying," Vilania interrupted immediately. "Making up troll dung!"

Lex gave her a narrow stare from the corner of his eyes to quieten her down before looking back to Dreth. So what if the elf made up a few outlandish story additions? Eventually he would get to the point about where Malvi had gone and then Lex could leave all these worries **and** Vilania behind.

"I'm not lying," Valen spat, looking rather outraged at this accusation. "As I live and breathe, I swear that the Emperor came down to the cells, accompanied by three…Imperials," Dreth rolled out the word Imperials, a nasty look upon his face as he did so.

Vilania still wasn't convinced. "The Emperor eh? Did he speak to you? Let me guess, he made you a knight!" she cajoled, a look of annoyed disbelief present upon her face.

Dreth chose to ignore her and turned his body towards Lex, blocking out the female elf. "As a matter of fact, he **did** speak to me," he confided to the guard.

Hieronymus nodded along, half pretending he believed the elf and half trying to hurry him along.

"But those words were for my ears, and my ears only," Valen nodded confidently. "Anyway, they were talking, saying things about how the heirs were dead and-"

"What?" Lex interrupted as Vilania's eyes widened in shock. "The heirs are dead? By whom?"

Dreth shrugged, apparently not too bothered by the death of the future emperors. "They didn't say. But after that they ventured to the cell, which that childish little Dunmer was in," he flicked a glance Vilania's way to see if she was bothered, she glowered at him, her arms crossed. "They got rather annoyed that she was in there, but then they told her to stand aside," the elf went quiet, looking rather humbled as he recalled the next part of his memory. "And then…and then the walls…moved aside…"

"The walls…moved aside?" Vilania checked.

Hieronymus couldn't speak, the heirs of Cyrodill…dead. But…the Emperor had survived? This was good news, it gave the Imperial something to hope for. Clearly something very wrong was happening within the shadows of Cyrodill…

"Yes," Valen returned a moody tone to his voice. "And then they all disappeared through it…"

There was a moment of silence as both Vilania and Lex let this sink in and then Lex grabbed the elf. Valen shrieked in disdain and anger.

"What did they say? Did they talk to Malvi at all?" Hieronymus interrogated.

"I couldn't hear from my cell!" Dreth yelped. "But I think the Emperor was talking to the girl for a bit…then they all just disappeared."

"What could the Emperor want with my sister?" Vilania questioned, looking dumbfounded.

Lex released Valen and turned, only then did he realise that the door to Malvi's cell was open. The Imperial rushed in, and saw that in the left hand side of the wall was a large hole, big enough for any race to walk through, and apparently Malvi had done just that.

Growling, Lex hurried out of the cell and took the stairs up to Jobert, two at a time, Vilania leaping up them after him.

The Imperial and the Dunmer burst into the jailer's office, Jobert looked over at them, wide-eyed.

"Jobert!" Hieronymus exclaimed. "How could you have forgotten to tell us that the **Emperor** passed through here?"

"The…the Emperor passed through here?" Jobert looked puzzled and then he blushed. "I…I was probably asleep…I'm an extremely heavy sleeper."

Lex stared at him in horror, before dragging his hands down his face.

"So…my sister's with the Emperor?" Vilania questioned as the guard captain scurried past her to go back downstairs.

"Yes," Hieronymus nodded, sounding extremely depressed. "Your thieving little sister is with the Emperor…Oh by the will of Akatosh, what if she tried to steal from him?"

"My sister isn't stupid," Vilania returned, looking affronted. "She'd know better than to steal from the Emperor."

"She tried to steal from High Chancellor Ocato…" Lex deadpanned as they reached the cells.

"Back again are you? Well I refuse to tell you anymore!" Valen announced from his cell.

"Quieten yourself down Dreth, this goes way beyond you," Hieronymus hissed.

Both Imperial and Dunmer entered Malvi's cell and then stood before the hole in the wall.

"You first," Vilania whispered, giving Lex a slight shove forward.

"Aren't you an adventurer?" Hieronymus replied as he yielded to her pushes and began making his way down. "Surely you shouldn't be acting like a scared child."

"I'm not acting like a scared child! How dare you?" Vilania replied angrily.

"Oh I dare," Lex sighed back tiredly as he arrived at the end of the initial passageway.

"Well you shouldn't dare," Vilania decided confidently.

"Well I do."

"Well, you shouldn't."

"Well I do."

This argument brought the two all the way to another area, and probably would have lasted them longer, if they had not been confronted by many, many dead bodies. Four were dressed in blood red robes, but one was wearing armour that troubled Lex deeply…she was wearing the armour of The Blades.

* * *

_Yay second chapter! I understand that this chapter took the story in a very different direction, and there is perhaps an inkling within me that says I should change this to romance and adventure, but be assured; the comedy and romance will still be the main forte of the story. I hope you enjoyed it. R&R?_

_Oh and thank you to Ghostsammeo, TLOSpyrogirl, Sara and Enakaz- The Fallen Angel for your initial reviews, it means a lot! ^_^_


	3. Chapter 3

The Lost Sister/Thief/Prisoner

* * *

As Lex ventured over to the deceased Blades member, Vilania began feverishly investigating the other bodies, whispering her sister's name over and over again like a mantra, praying that Malvi would not be amongst the bodies before them.

Hieronymus knelt down next to the woman dressed in the garb of The Blades. Worry was rushing over the guard captain like a tidal wave. The man did not know much about The Blades; he knew about as much as any other civilian did. The Blades were known for being secretive, but it was said they were always around the Emperor, protecting him from harm. If this member of The Blades was dead…where was the Emperor? Sighing heavily, unease building up in the pit of his stomach, Lex slowly lowered woman's lids giving her a peaceful look.

"Malvi's not amongst the dead bodies," Vilania reported appearing next to him as the guard captain got to his feet.

Hieronymus nodded and then gestured down at the dead body at his feet. "This woman was one of The Blades," he murmured softly. "I'm not sure about the others. I don't recognise their outfits."

"The who's…?" Vilania scrunched up her face in confusion.

Lex decided to leave it. He was not in the mood to explain that this situation had gone way beyond Malvi now. Vilania obviously noted the man's mood and so softly pressed forward, leaving her question in the air.

"Well…" she started gingerly. "Um. I recognise the others."

Hieronymus turned to her, intrigued, this was vital information. From the looks of things these people had attacked –and killed- a member of The Blades. They were criminals and any leads would be a huge help.

"You do?" he questioned curiously.

"I think they're a Daedric cult…that worship…" Vilania trailed off before continuing. "Dagon."

"Dagon?" Lex repeated. He would be the first to admit that he had no idea about all the different Daedra. In all honesty…Daedric worshipping made the man ill at ease.

"He's the 'Prince of Destruction'," Vilania explained. "I encountered some of his followers in a cave I was exploring."

"What're they like?" Hieronymus enquired.

Vilania paused for a few moments before giving him an incredulous look. "I didn't **engage**them," she snorted. "For the love of Azura! They were doing all sorts of crazy things."

Hieronymus blinked at the logic of the sentence. Vilania seemed to have the unique ability of disarming Lex with her answers.

"Right," he agreed. "Well-" the guard captain's next words were cut off when the door in front of them suddenly creaked open.

Both Vilania and Lex jumped and Lex's hand went to his blade as he put an arm out to shield the Dunmer behind him. The man visibly relaxed however once a Red Guard –wearing yet more armour of The Blades- popped his head around the door.

"What're you doing here?" the Red Guard enquired. "Who are you?"

"I am Hieronymus Lex, captain of the Guard. This is Vilania. We're down here looking for her lost sister," Lex explained, he watched as the other man's grip on hilt of the sword at his hip slackened.

"Her sister?" the man repeated, he looked dazed and Hieronymus noted what appeared to be tear tracks lining the man's face. "Malvi?"

Vilania gasped. "Yes! Yes that's her! Have you seen her?" the Dunmer rushed out from behind Lex and grabbed at The Blades' member's hand. "Where has she gone?" she continued, a wide happy grin stretched across the woman's dark face.

"She…" the man trailed off and Hieronymus tutted.

"Vilania back off a moment," he murmured. As Vilania did so –casting a glare over her shoulder at Lex as she did- Hieronymus watched The Blades' man with unease. Why was he here and not with the Emperor? "Where is the Emperor?" Lex voiced his worries, no longer able to contain them.

The other man looked up and his face contorted with pain for a moment before he checked himself. "The Emperor has died-" both Lex and Vilania gasped in horror. "He sent your sister," the Red Guard nodded at Vilania. "To find his heir and save Cyrodill."

While Vilania digested all this information, Lex raised a hand to his forehead in disbelief. "No…" he whispered. "The Emperor…"

"I must continue upstairs," the Blades' member decided briskly all his other emotions vanishing behind a business like demeanour. "I need helpers to help me with the Emperors…body," he nodded at the two people before him and went to leave, but Vilania turned after him.

"Wait!" she called. "Where has Malvi gone?"

The Red Guard turned to look at the dark elf, one of his feet already on the stone stairs leading upwards. "She has gone to Weynon Priory," he answered. "Please don't try to stop her from doing this. What she is doing is of extreme importance…without Malvi the whole Empire could crumble," and with these parting words the man departed, leaving Lex and Vilania alone once more.

"The whole Empire could crumble?" Vilania repeated she turned to look at Hieronymus, aghast.

"Malvi has been put in charge of protecting Cyrodill from some unknown threat. A threat that has gotten the Emperor assassinated," Lex said, he was crouching, his eyes fixated on the floor. "By the Nine Divines we're doomed!"

"**Hey**!" Vilania protested. "Give my sister more credit! If the Emperor could trust her then shouldn't you?"

Hieronymus looked up at the Dunmer before him outstanded, once again, by her reasoning. "I suppose you're ri-" he began, but Vilania cut him off.

"I **am** right," she interrupted importantly. "Now come on we need to go help her."

"**Help**her?" Lex repeated. It was now his turn to look aghast. "But we don't even know what we're fighting against!"

"Well…" Vilania paused for a moment her face contorted into a thoughtful pout, then she clicked and grinned at him. "We'll find that out when we find Malvi!" the curvy dark elf pulled at Hieronymus who let himself be yanked up.

"Why're you so chipper?" he enquired as he trudged along behind his companion, up towards the cells once more. Lex, himself, felt like a part of him had been ripped out. He was an Imperial guard, servant to the Emperor. The man couldn't help but feel slightly responsible -and lost- after his leader's death.

"The way I see it," Vilania answered. "The Emperor entrusted my sister with a mission; that means there's still hope, right?"

Lex tossed this over in his head before answering. "Yes, there'd be hope…if it wasn't your thieving sister who had been sent on this mission!"

Vilania tutted, but didn't reward the man with an answer choosing instead to raise a threatening fist at Valen Dreth as they emerged into the cellblock.

"What if she tried to pickpocket the Emperor?" Hieronymus continued as they made their way up the stairs, towards Jobert.

"Malvi **isn't**that stupid Lex," Vilania tossed over her shoulder as they entered the Jailer's office.

It was void of life. Hieronymus figured that The Blades' man had gathered Jobert to help him move the Emperor.

As the two of them exited into the fresh air of the Imperial City, Lex replied. "She tried to steal from High Chancellor Ocato."

"Stop bringing that up!" Vilania retorted.

"It happened **yesterday**," the guard captain shot back.

"Ugh," Vilania crossed her arms in a huff and turned her back on the man. "Look, just go gather your things and then meet me outside the Chestnut Handy Stables."

Hieronymus raised a finger to argue back, but then relented and slowly turned his back on the dark elf. Mumbling to himself about being roped into stuff he didn't need to be involved in, the Imperial mooched off in the direction of his house.

_Malvi,_Vilania thought grimly to herself, a bittersweet smile plastered on her face, _What have you gotten yourself in to?_

* * *

_I'm sooo sorry for being away for so long! I just got so uninspired. The funniness will be picked up once Hieronymus and Vilania are travelling together. I hope this was ok. R&R_


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